August 2018
Message from Pastor Tom,
Well parents… the new school supply lists are out. Your children
will soon be back in school, college students will be driving to college, or
flying to new adventures in learning. Our summer is coming to a close, and the
4th of July fireworks are all but gone. However, our memories are
still fresh from the sights, sounds and colors as we celebrated with friends
and family and went on some great family vacations these past few months. And
now onto the new sights, sounds and colors we will soon enjoy, the sound of
ongoing sales and discounts from the likes of Amazon, the media, and of course our
mailboxes stuffed full of back-to-school sale ads making the kids want the
newest styles and colors for this fall school year. Heidi and I knew as our
kids grew up, every year more often than not, they wanted anything and
everything for the start of a new school year.
In this sense, the new school year and our Christian worship
interconnect, because the very business of Christianity is fresh starts, much
like the start of a new school year. Our symbol of fresh starts is the cross of
Jesus Christ, and in the person of Jesus we find our new beginning. So I
ask you this family, do you feel you have flunked out as they say, before you
even had a chance to enroll? Well… that isn’t what Jesus wants for you. News
flash folks, Jesus is more interested in our transformation than our
transgressions. Our transformation is how Jesus teaches and how Jesus saves us.
Jesus works from within as our Teacher. When people say Jesus changes lives,
this is the kind of thing they are trying to describe. Jesus, not just a
Teacher, but also a Savior, the One who can work on us from the inside out. He
doesn’t just see things from our point of view; He knows what it means to be
human because He is as much human as God. We, just like Jesus, need to teach
justice coupled with compassion and mercy, with the knowledge Christ desires an
abundant life for everyone.
Believe me I'm preaching to myself here, as no one is ever
left out of Jesus' teachings. Always remember He came to call sinners and was
more pleased when people showed mercy than sacrifice. We need to keep the
faith, and our Faith should be our whole way of life, presented as a “living
faith.” It was Jesus who described His message as “fresh water” that is never
stagnant and quenches the thirst of all ages. This is the same as one's
education. It is always going to be fresh in your mind when read or studied,
and only goes stagnant when you close the book and do not use it. Don't let
God's Word go stagnant. Open the Book of Knowledge and never close the Bible,
as not only your journey through life, but also your eternal life depends upon
it.
Heidi and I understand how stressful and hard it can be to
getting our children ready for the school year with finances and so many
choices to make. Rest assured Jesus Christ promises us hope for eternity, and
this life as well. When we receive
Jesus as Savior, through His sacrifice, we are redeemed, forgiven, justified,
and reconciled to God. That is, Christ’s blood has brought us from death to
life, and has let us enter into an eternal relationship with the Father. In
doing so, our lives are less stress filled, and full of new beginnings. So
our prayer for all of you is to experience a less stress-filled life, full of
great new beginnings and for those headed back to school, may this year be the
most successful yet.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and as always I
hope it spiritually enriches you.
Blessings from a pastor and his wife,
Tom and Heidi
“Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is
here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
